Prince Harry’s statement in full as he berates Piers Morgan after lawsuit

Prince Harry has said he would continue his mission to bring change to the British press after Mirror Group Newspapers settled his outstanding lawsuit.

The Duke of Sussex settled the remaining parts of his phone hacking claim against Mirror Group Newspapers.

His lawyer told the court that Prince Harry had won further “substantial” damages after the company accepted an offer to settle the claim.

It comes after a judge ruled in December that Prince Harry’s phone had been hacked to an extent by MGN, and awarded him £140,600 in damages.

In a statement read by his lawyer David Sherborne he said:

“Everything we said was happening at Mirror Group was in fact happening, and indeed far worse as the Court ruled in its extremely damning judgement,”

He also launched another attack on Piers Morgan, the former editor of the Daily Mirror.

“In light of all this, we call again for the authorities to uphold the rule of law and to prove that no one is above it. That includes Mr Morgan, who as editor, knew perfectly well what was going on, as the judge held,” his statement said.

“His contempt for the court’s ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment.”

Since stepping down from royal duties in March 2020 and moving to California with his American wife Meghan, the British royal has made it his mission to rid the British press of the senior executives and editors he accuses of abusing their power to spread lies and unlawfully intrude into people’s lives.

“As I said back in December, our mission continues. I believe in the positive change it will bring for all of us. It is the very reason why I started this, and why I will continue to see it through to the end.”

A further 115 articles were in his claim, which may have been the subject of a further trial. However, the duke’s lawyer David Sherborne confirmed on Friday that a settlement had been reached, with the publisher due to make an interim payment of £400,000.

The court had previously found that phone hacking became “widespread and habitual” at MGN titles in the late 1990s and was practised “even to some extent” during the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in 2011.

In the latest ruling, Mr Justice Fancourt said the publisher should pay so-called “generic” legal costs to the more than 100 people currently involved in the legal action.

The judge said: “On the generic issues, there can be little doubt that the claimants were successful. In this unusual case, justice is only done by awarding the claimants their costs of the generic issues.”